I know, I've used a lot of exclamation marks this week.  It's been kind of exciting--first reviews, Sherrie's song.  And then today, I finally go the book trailer done.  It's posted on YouTube.  I'd love it if you'd stop by and take a peak.  All marketing-schmoozing aside, I really do think that the song Sherrie wrote and Veronica sang is worth a few clicks over. 
Very powerful.

I'll embed it here at some point (meaning as soon as I figure out how!).

Thanks for stopping by!

If you haven't yet, go see the video! If you like it, tell your friends to go see it.

This was kind of a busy weekend.  Lots of drama.  One of the most painful parts of my job, the thing about it that I hate, is casting the play.  It is brutally hard for me to have to disappoint so many children, all of whom are anxiously harboring hopes that they will get "THE role."  

It is hard to begin with and compounded by the fact that I have been an actor, so I know how much it hurts. I don't enjoy knowing I am hurting them.

Yes, it's a good life lesson, yes, it's something they need to learn, yes to all of those things.  It's still hard.  And I don't like it.

It was far more difficult than usual this time around.  Call-backs for Fiddler on the Roof were Friday.  Call-backs are sort of like the whole season of American Idol crammed into one long afternoon/evening.  At the end, there are two or three finalists left.  Then, I excuse them and go home and make my decisions.

I've done this for over 20 years, so the actual deciding is not usually that hard--it's generally very clear who is best suited for the roles. 

This year the finalists for one of the leads were my daughter and one of her close friends. 

I wanted my daughter to get the part.  I hoped she would get the part.  But she had to earn it on her own merits.  I treated her fairly--she had no disadvantage or advantage.  If she had been best for the role, I would have cast her and not blinked. 

But she wasn't.  She is good--very talented and promising.  But she just didn't fit this particular role as well as her friend.

Ouch.

Saturday was a bit rough at our house.  But good in the longish view.  These kind of lessons are very important.  I felt sorry and sad to see my daughter struggling--it hurt more than I can describe.  But I knew it was necessary for her to have this kind of experience.  I love her but allowed her to have a difficult, heart-wrenching experience. I think I learned a little more about the nature of God.

So that was my weekend.  And Sunday was crazy busy as well. 

The good news is that Sherrie recorded our song on Friday.  So, that will be available soon.  I'm so excited about that.  She is very talented and you will definitely want to hear this song.  There will be a short version on the book trailer and think I'll post a short clip here and then, if you are interested, you can download it or order a cd.

Sherrie was a hero because we found out at the last minute that we couldn't use elements of "I Know That My Redeemer Lives," which she had masterfully woven into the accompaniment.  So, with 48 hours to record, she had to rewrite it.  Thanks, Sherrie.